Anything You Can Do
by evclgsb
Summary: In which Rachel quits Glee and joins debate team. Oneshot.


When Mr. Schuester announces they're going to sing something by Mariah Carey, Rachel is a mile beyond excited. She smiles really brightly and sits up even straighter, folding her hands politely in her lap and readying herself for a fantastic lead that will properly express her vocal range. Listening so intently to Mr. Schue's speech, Rachel almost misses the part where he hands Mike the sheet music for "_Emotions_" before giving Rachel harmony.

Her face falls and her eyes become very serious and very hard. He's i_punishing_/i her. Again. At this point she cannot keep track of all of the inane, stupid reasons he comes up with for handing her precious leads to undeserving members of the club. It's obvious he is just jealous that Rachel is going somewhere; she'll get out of this deadbeat town and end up on Broadway, where her talent will actually be appreciated.

Her hand shoots up in the air. "Mr. Schuester I really think I deserve this solo. Matt isn't ready for it."

Mr. Schue shakes his head and sighs like he just i_knew_/i this was going to happen to him, and he's disappointed in her for saying anything (for telling the truth). "Rachel, we need to give everyone a chance to-"

"But this song requires a vocal range that Matt doesn't have."

"You don't know that Rachel." He pinches the bridge of his nose and looks at her with exasperation.

"But the last time you tried to take my solo away it was clear you were wrong and Kurt couldn't properly sing the part." She glances at Kurt for a second and smiles at him as though she's a little sorry about that. Just a little. She i_did_/i deserve the lead on "_Defying Gravity_".

"Rachel-"

"She's got a point," Puck chimes in, a bored expression occupying his face as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thank you," Rachel says, smiling at him and reaching over to touch his arm, luckily she stops herself. Puck's probably hoping everyone thinks he's just trying to annoy Mr. Schue into ending practice early, but Rachel knows he cares about her. At least somewhat.

"I'm sorry, the solo's Matt's."

"Then," Rachel says, taking a deep breath, standing up abruptly, pushing her chair back an inch and balling her hands into fists. "I quit."

"You what?" Mr. Schuester looks at her with shock. Clearly he thought she was over quitting Glee. But if he still can't appreciate what she brings to the club, even after taking the lead at sectionals and inspiring everyone, then she thinks it's only her prerogative to leave.

"I quit." She nods her head firmly before marching out of the room, her head held high and her back completely straight. Rachel vaguely hears Mr. Schuester calling after her as she slams the door shut, walking down the hallway.

*

She hasn't been to Glee club in a week, and Rachel isn't missing it all that much. She has more time to devote to putting up her videos on Myspace and learning the new dances from the videos that air in the early morning on VH1 and MTV. Her dads also promised they would fly out to New York over Spring Break and see some musicals on Broadway, so life has been absolutely fantastic.

However, she does find that she misses interacting with her peers after school. Finn says hi to her in the hallway, and she gets to eat lunch with Tina or Artie or Kurt and Mercedes sometimes when she's (they're) feeling generous. And Jacob always tries to speak to her when they have classes together. So, Rachel isn't i_alone_/i, per se.

She doesn't have time for friends anyway. She's too busy making sure her future is still looking sparkly and perfect.

*

One day as Rachel's walking down the hall, ready to go home, anticipating how exciting and fun it will be to record "_All by Myself_"for her MySpace series in half an hour, she spots a football player carrying a slushie in her direction (and it isn't even a grape one).

Ducking into a nearby classroom, just in case, Rachel is surprised to see a few kids sitting in desks, eagerly looking at notecards. There's a podium set up at the front of the room where Mr. Tanaka is moving another one so they're aligned with each other.

"Excuse me," Rachel says, slipping her purse off her shoulder, "What club is this?"

"It's not a club," a pimply boy replies snootily. "This is debate i_team_/i."

"Oh." A smile is spreading its way over Rachel's features. She'd be i_so_/i good at debate team; her dads have taught her everything they know. "May I join?"

"What?" Mr. Tanaka looks red in the face as he reaches down to zip up the fly of his shorts (he probably thought he was being subtle).

"May I join?" Rachel repeats, already slipping into a desk at the front of the room, placing her purse next to her on the floor.

"I, uh, I, I guess so."

"I didn't know you coached Debate team?" Rachel asks Mr. Tanaka.

"I don't," he sighs, leaning forward on the podium. His face is very grave as he runs a hand through his hair. "Football season ended and Principal Figgins is making me do it."

"Oh. Alright."

"I'm the captain." The boy with pimples covering his face appears in front of her, holding his hand out.

She shakes it. "I can suggest some products to help you with the acne problem."

Jerking his hand away, he frowns at her. "No, thank you," he snaps, taking a few steps backward so he can address the other people in the room, too. "Let's get started."

*

Rachel's notecards are neat and color-coded and one hundred percent i_perfect_/i. She has spent hours upon hours preparing for her first practice debate against Josh, captain of the debate team (but she had made sure it did not interfere with her rigorous singing schedule, of course). And the subject could not have been any better if she had hand-picked the topic herself: gay marriage. She's pro, too. Because Rachel's certain she couldn't argue against it when her dads are so happy together, and the best parents she could have asked for.

As she takes a deep breath, standing in front of her full-length mirror to practice her delivery, the doorbell rings. Rachel didn't think they were expecting a package from UPS, so maybe it's time for Girl Scout Cookies--her dads really love thin mints, and she'd order some cookies for them, even if she got asked to leave her troop after a month. She places her cards on her desk before running downstairs. Smoothing out her mauve skirt, Rachel opens the door, her eyebrows shooting up and her lips pursing when she sees Matt standing on the other side and not some second grader with a sash.

"Can I help you?" she asks politely, only because he looks utterly defeated.

"I, uh, need some help with the solo." He crinkles the music in his hands and Rachel stares at it for a long time. "Can you, maybe…"

"Sure." Rachel still cares about everyone in Glee club, even Matt, who didn't offer her the solo after Mr. Schuester gave it to him unfairly. "Is now good?"

"Yes," Matt seems to relax, his shoulders falling.

*

He looks absolutely terrified as Rachel finishes singing the song, like maybe she expects him to perform so expertly on the spot. But she doesn't. "Now you try." She hands the sheet music back to him, even though she didn't really need it. She thinks he should know the notes by now, too, but not everyone has her work ethic.

"Right." He takes a shaky breath before beginning, and he isn't bad. Rachel only winces a few times (and she only gets some pleasure out of knowing she sang it better, with more emotion).

"Matt," she says when he finishes and finally looks at her again, his eyes darting around her bedroom, anxiously. "You're really good. I think I know where you need the most work though."

Taking the sheet music from him, Rachel takes a freshly sharpened, sparkly pink pencil off her desk and marks a few places, handing the music back to him. "We'll go over them all today, and then you can work them at home."

"Seriously?" He raises his eyebrows at her, his pupils expanding. Sometimes Rachel wonders if Matt thinks she's crazy.

"I am always serious about Mariah."

"Oh."

*

As Rachel walks down the hallway, she notices Finn waiting by the vending machines. Looking behind her, she doesn't see any football players he could possibly be waiting for. Her heart skips a beat inconspicuously; she smiles tentatively.

"Hey Rachel," he says, falling into step beside her easily.

"Finn."

"So I just wanted to…" He runs his fingers through his hair, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Thanks for helping Matt with the solo."

"Oh, you know about that?" Rachel looks at him, and she's just so grateful that he's her friend, because he really is--probably the only real one she has.

"Uh, yeah. But he only told me because I didn't have time to help." Finn grins at her then, hitting her arm lightly. "I knew you'd be a great teacher."

"Th-thanks." Sometimes when she's around Finn, she gets a little flustered. There's just something about looking into his eyes that makes her feel like maybe she's standing on the stage of her own musical.

His expression turns serious. "Hey, are you coming back to Glee soon? We miss you…I miss you."

Rachel bites her lip and shakes her head slightly, her eyes growing dark with sadness as she responds, "No. Mr. Schue doesn't appreciate me." Straightening her shoulders out, she proudly tells him: "Besides, I joined debate team recently and now my extra-curricular activates are booked."

"Oh."

"We could still hang out though." Rachel looks at him hopefully, stopping outside of her classroom.

"Yeah, definitely," Finn says, squeezing her shoulder and smiling before continuing down the hallway.

Rachel hugs her binder tightly to her chest and exhales slowly. She really does miss Glee, (she misses Finn almost as much).

*

"And that's all for today," Josh says, shuffling his papers on the podium, "good job guys. Rachel, I hope you're prepared to be eviscerated tomorrow."

"Excuse me, but I am completely prepared for the debate. My dads have been helping me practice." Standing up, Rachel slings her purse over her shoulder, looking at the clock. She needs to get home soon since Matt asked for one more day of help.

Josh lets out a harsh chuckled, his fingers tracing the top of the podium lightly. "It's your first i_real_/idebate. There's no way you're ready to oppose me."

Glancing over her shoulder, Rachel sees that Mr. Tanaka isn't there to reproach Josh (he probably left early; he tends to do that a lot--Rachel finds it quite unprofessional). "My dads are lawyers and I am a very gifted performer."

"It's not glee club. It's i_debate_/iteam. You don't i_perform_/i."

"And that mentality is why you are going to lose." Rachel tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and begins to turn, preparing to head home.

"And you'll see exactly why your dads are immoral."

Rachel halts, spinning around on her heels quickly, hair fanning out around her face before settling perfectly on her shoulders. She takes a deep breath and locks eyes with Josh. If she were less composed, more impulsive, she would probably slap him hard across the cheek, leaving an aching pink handprint. But she's confident (in herself, in her points and delivery), so she blinks a few times.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

She slams the door on her way out.

*

Rachel hits the piano key, sustaining the note and nodding encouragingly at Matt. She presses it one more time, smiling brightly when he hits the note, holding it for a few seconds. "You did it!" She claps her hands together quickly, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet.

"Wow." Matt bops his shoulders up and down, does the moonwalk and grins like a fool. "Thanks Rachel."

"You're welcome. Now come back here." She lets her pencil hover over the sheet music that Matt still brings, even though he's memorized it now--thank god, he'd be a lost cause otherwise. "You've really done a good job, but I just don't think you can hit this note," she points to the black dot that they've worked on for the majority of today.

"Right." Matt rolls his eyes a little, like he doesn't care because he accomplished something today, if not that.

"We should probably just drop these measures down an octave." Circling the line carefully, Rachel puts the pencil down, handing the music back to Matt. "If Mr. Schue doesn't like it you can just tell him that I.-" Rachel pauses, looking at Matt carefully before speaking, "I thought this arrangement would work better. I'll talk to him if you need me to."

"Alright." Matt folds the music carefully (Rachel's piercing, disapproving eyes telling him he needed to stop crumpling it the last time he came around), still grinning widely at Rachel. "We done?"

"Yes," Rachel nods. "Goodbye."

"See ya." Matt grabs his jacket, tucking the music into his jean pocket andwalking out the door quickly. He probably has someplace else to be.

Rachel sinks down, sitting on the hard piano bench, biting her lip. She watches his car pull down the driveway and speed away; Matt ignores the stop sign and turns the corner (she should have reminded him not to do that before he left), and she can't see him anymore. Blinking back a few tears, she traces the little dips under her eyes with her fingers.

Turning around on the bench, she lightly presses down the same note Matt finally hit, and singing it softly under her breath, Rachel begins to hum the song, letting her voice drift down the octave, trying to see if she actually likes how it sounds.

She does.

*

"God made man and woman to fit together; man and man or woman and woman don't. It's basic biology. And if they don't fit together on the most basic, instinctual level, then they should not be able to enter into the contract of marriage."

"Rachel," Mr. Tanaka sighs, "Your rebuttal."

"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka." She beams at him, shuffling through her notecards and glancing down briefly. "While Josh makes a good point about biology," Rachel begins, looking at him quickly. "He clearly does not understand what the word instinctual means. Because for a gay or lesbian, it is their instinct to be with a person of the same gender. It is what is right for them and what allows them to be happiest and feel most fulfilled--not just in sex, but in life as well.

"Marriage is a union that brings people closer together, and Josh just cannot comprehend what it feels like for two people who love each other deeply and passionately to be denied a basic right."

"Objection!" Josh shouts, his face flushed. He's gripping his podium tightly. He's losing, and it's obvious to everyone (to both people who are looking for fact and people who are going on emotion and ability to persuade).

"This is not a courtroom, Josh. It's a i_debate_/i." Rachel sneers at him, pressing her lips together and holding her head high.

"Ms. Berry, if you cannot keep from disrespecting Mr. Hennley, you'll be disqualified," Mr. Tanaka states firmly, rubbing at his temples in frustration.

"Mr. Tanaka, I am just countering his points, and if he's too weak to take criticism he should not be captain of the debate team."

"Ms. Berry," Mr. Tanaka says, gritting his teeth, "please go into the hall to cool down."

Josh smiles smugly; Rachel's mouth falls open. "Excuse me? What about my right to free speech? I am allowed to express my opinion and you cannot take that away from me. It's unconstitutional."

"This is a public school. Go out into the hallway before I really get pissed off about having to monitor this." Mr. Tanaka stares her down. Rachel simply huffs, stomping out into the hallway.

She fuming, absolutely livid. Her dads will sue the school and Mr. Tanaka for violating the first amendment; that'll show them. It is completely unfair to punish her for being the best person on debate team; it's not Rachel's fault if she is exceedingly talented in multiple areas.

Apparently no matter where she goes, people will be jealous of her. She wishes they'd just appreciate her.

For once.

*

She's still upset when she leaves to go home (Mr. Tanaka disqualified her from the i_practice_/i debate, and Josh smirked at her condescendingly, telling her it just took some practice to be as good as he is--even though he didn't win fairly). As she turns the corner, everyone is standing outside the Glee room- Finn, Kurt, Matt, Puck, Mercedes, Quinn, Tina, Artie, Mike, Brittany and Santana- smiling at her.

"What?" she asks as she stops in front of them.

"Come back to Glee club Rachel. We need you." Finn's eyes are pleading; everyone else just nods along.

"Matt told us what you did for him," Kurt starts, looking past her as he speaks, "it was very generous of you. We appreciate it."

Rachel's eyes are getting teary and she ignores Kurt when he adds: "even though I could have helped him." She just feels so full and happy and iappreciated/i.

"Please, Rachel? We miss you, too." Quinn looks fairly sincere as she speaks and Rachel smiles widely. "So that's a yes?"

"Yes."

Finn gives her a hug, Puck whispers into her ear that he thought about quitting without her there, and Matt offers her the solo. Rachel doesn't take it though; she doesn't need it.

Not when she has a whole group of friends instead.

*


End file.
